5 lb Chicken, quartered
2 Chicken Feet or
4 Chicken Wings or
1 Turkey Wing
3 Cloves Garlic, bruised
1 md Onion, peeled
4 Carrots, peeled and cut up
4 Stalks Celery cut up
1/2 bn Parsley, tied with string
1 Bay Leaf
1 1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Black Peppercorns
Ground Pepper 4 qt Water
Pour water into a large pot. Add the chicken, and chicken feet, garlic, onion, carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns, and slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours, using a spoon to skim the fat from the soup as thoroughly as possible. Cool. Strain the soup. Discard the onion, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns, and set the other vegetablees aside. Skin the chicken and remove the meat from the bones. Return the chicken meat, carrots, celery, garlic cloves and broth to the pot and bring back to a simmer, seasoning with additional salt or pepper to taste. Serve the soup in big bowls, over pastina, rice or spaghettini. This soup’s curative powers are released only when the vegetables are mashed together in the bowl. Use a fork for mashing. Use a big spoon for eating. Makes 3 quarts. From “Cold Spaghetti at Midnight,” by Maggie Waldron Source: Medford Mail Tribune, 30 November 1993